Thursday, November 15, 2007 Chongquing Day By Dorothy Bangayan The Unlonely Planet
IT WAS a cold day when we disembarked in Chongquing after cruising the gorges of the Yangtze river. Chonquing, also called the golden waterway of the Yangtze, is one of the four municipalities of China completing Beijing, Tiajing and Shanghai.
We visited Eling Park where Chang Kai Shek stayed during the Anti Japanese war. His house has become a bazaar showcase of Chinese antiques with perhaps only the toilet left as its original antiquity used by Chang Kai Shek. For antique lovers, the prices here are a steal.
These antiques are claimed to be "donations" by wealthy families who had to relocate during the flooding caused by the 3 gorges dam project. They are then sold off as a charity sale to tourists to fund the project.
Despite the fact that one gets a government certificate for these goods, you can still haggle it down to 60 percent off. This is after all, China.
Another tourist site is the Great Hall of the People, the largest public assembly building in China. Although it is new, it shows a traditional architectural style. A photo op at night is must.
We passed by elevated houses with queer architecture that opened to mountainous hilltops to our destination: The Dazu Rock Carvings.
It takes two hours from the city to get to Dazu. And another hour for us to finish shopping before we actually found time to look at the main scenery. One passes by a multitude of sidewalk shops before you reach the entrance of the Dazu Rock Carvings.
Along the way, native craftsman carve out rock statues for sale. Chinese wallets and pictures featuring sui embroidery as well as hats and other odds and ends are plied with aggressiveness.
If you get a good deal, buy it. You might not find a cheaper or similar item in the city. We haggled down genuine leather cowboy hats for 6 rmb (48 pesos) and silk embroidered wallets for 4 rmb (P32).
The Dazu Rock Carvings is listed as a World Heritage Site due to its cultural and natural value. It features a series of sculptures and carvings from the 7th century AD. Most of the carvings showcase religious influences from Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist beliefs. There are 75 protected sites with the most visited ones found in Mt. Baodingshan and Mt. Beishan.
And so we went up and down the steps and into caves and around rock statues. We see intricate sculptures born straight from the cave's natural walls. We tried to close our eyes and walk in a straight line to touch a rock as it is said to be good luck.
Our tour guide must have been a teacher in her past life because she droned each and every statue's historical and religious value so much that we all decided to cut class and munch on ice cream instead.
We got tired and hired bicycle powered Kalesa's manned by peasant men and women for one rmb to bring us back. (email at wandergirl28@gmail.com or visit www.theunlonelyplanet.wordpress.com)
